It's Time to Relaunch Your Career!

Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, the pioneering leader in the career reentry field, bringing thousands of mid-career professionals back into the workforce after extended leave. iRelaunch works with employers worldwide to build and expand in-house career reentry programs, produces the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences, and leads a community of nearly 125,000 relaunchers looking to return to work. Cohen, a relauncher herself, hosts the 3,2,1 iRelaunch podcast and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk, "How to get back to work after a career break," has nearly 3.8 million views.

I’m delighted to be part of the iRelaunch community. Over the last decade, I’ve had the privilege of coaching dozens of relaunchers and I’m always thrilled to see them step back into the workplace with renewed confidence.

I believe we are all works in progress and that each one of us is meant to continue growing and stretching ourselves, personally and professionally. I founded Bright Evolution Leadership Coaching, LLC with the goal of helping my clients evolve into the next, better version of themselves. In my work with relaunchers, I have guided my clients to be intentional about their return-to-work strategy and to be authentic to who they are – coaching them to own their professional path and their career break.

For the last 20 years, I’ve worked with MBA students and business leaders from all industries and sectors, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. I’ve worked at three graduate schools of business and spent the last 15 years at the MIT Sloan School of Management, most recently serving as the Director of Alumni Career Services. In this role, I coached over 2,000 business students and executives (including relaunchers), helping them successfully navigate leadership challenges and critical transition points in their careers.

In addition to my private coaching practice, I am honored to teach as a Fellow with the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership and coach on career platforms The Muse and Landit. I am a recommended Executive Coach at MIT, Columbia Business School and Stanford GSB.

My Education and Certifications include:

• B.A. in Journalism & Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Ed.M from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education

• Executive Coach (CPCC) through the Co-Active Training Institute

• PCC with the International Coaching Federation

• Assessments: Certification in Gallup Clifton Strengths, MBTI, and Positive Intelligence

You can find out more about me at nextevolutioncoach.com

Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, the pioneering leader in the career reentry field, bringing thousands of mid-career professionals back into the workforce after extended leave. iRelaunch works with employers worldwide to build and expand in-house career reentry programs, produces the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences, and leads a community of nearly 125,000 relaunchers looking to return to work. Cohen, a relauncher herself, hosts the 3,2,1 iRelaunch podcast and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk, "How to get back to work after a career break," has nearly 3.8 million views.

Colleen is a relauncher and an accomplished senior executive with over two decades of experience in strategic business development and revenue growth. Currently serving as Senior Director of Business Development at iRelaunch, she leads business development strategy while mentoring teams and optimizing sales processes to foster long-term partnerships. Her expertise lies in navigating complex decision-making processes within large global organizations and delivering consultative sales solutions.

Prior to iRelaunch, she spent over a decade in executive leadership roles at Harlem Globetrotters International, where she transformed the organization's business development initiatives. As Executive Vice President of Business Development, she drove revenue generation through strategic sponsorship and licensing opportunities. During her tenure as President of Globetrotter Properties, she also led the Executive Committee in executing strategic plans that increased operating profit year over year.

Outside of the corporate world, Colleen volunteers her time to causes dedicated to women and children, such as the local Domestic Violence Awareness chapter and leading the Family School Association.

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Speech Communications, she combines analytical thinking with exceptional communication skills. She lives in the Chicago area with her family and enjoys cooking for friends, being outdoors when it’s not freezing, and traveling.  

Brett is a Vice President in the Moody’s People Team where he is responsible for Early Careers and Programs Talent Attraction. In this role, he leads the strategic direction and oversees the delivery of programs to attract and recruit students and recent graduates into the global organization. Brett also manages targeted recruitment programs at the mid-career level including RE-IGNITE, Moody’s initiative to hire and support individuals returning from a career break.
Prior to his current role, Brett led Campus Recruitment at Moody’s in both the US and EMEA. Before joining Talent Attraction, Brett was a manager in the Events & Outreach Team at Moody’s Analytics where he was responsible for the events programming for MIS research clients in the US.
Brett is a Steering Committee member of the US Pride Business Resource Group (BRG), and previously served as a Co-Chair, as well as represented Moody’s on the Board of Directors of OPEN Finance, a non-profit business league of over 40 US-headquartered financial institutions’ LGBTQ+ employee resource groups.
He earned his BFA from the Conservatory of Fine Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Cedric Layton is the Global ReEntry Program Co-Ordinator at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and is part of the Asset & Wealth Management Talent Institution organization. He works with Senior Leaders, DE&I Partners, SWAT Recruiting Team, Talent & Learning ReEntry Program Team, Communication & Website Teams and external partners to project end to end the ReEntry program, to include creating project plans, timelines, budget plans, data analytics on hiring, retention, promotions, communications, coordinating websites changes and creating presentations materials. As Program Co-Ordinator for the Global ReEntry Program, he also partners with communications, marketing, and media teams to organize, structure and manage the communication strategy for the program including internal communications, external communications, branding, website, testimonials and articles. Cedric joined J.P. Morgan in 2008. Prior to joining the Asset & Wealth Management line of business in March of 2020, he partnered with supervisors, managers, and Executive Level Management in different organizations within the Consumer & Community Banking line of business to monitor workflow movement, confirm established controls, ensure SLA compliance, and report on employee performance. Cedric’s passion for helping people led to his current role with the firm. His ability to work with and mentor young adults was channeled into his role as Year Up Program Sponsor for the Home Lending division of the Consumer & Community Banking line of business. While serving in the role, Cedric was presented with the Urban Empowerment Award by the Year Up Program Team in recognition of his dedication to their mission to close the opportunity divide. He also led a team composed of members from the Dallas/Fort Worth Location Leadership Team at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co to being recognized by Year Up with the Corporate Champion Award. Cedric attributes much of his career success to his professionalism, work ethic, and the support received from leaders and colleagues within the firm. Cedric holds a Bachelor's degree in Applied Arts & Science from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Hobbies & Interests: Cedric enjoys working out, reading fiction novels, biking, spending time with family.

Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, the pioneering leader in the career reentry field, bringing thousands of mid-career professionals back into the workforce after extended leave. iRelaunch works with employers worldwide to build and expand in-house career reentry programs, produces the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences, and leads a community of nearly 125,000 relaunchers looking to return to work. Cohen, a relauncher herself, hosts the 3,2,1 iRelaunch podcast and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk, "How to get back to work after a career break," has nearly 3.8 million views.

Welcome, everyone, and I’m so excited to meet you! I’m Sara Dickison Taylor, President and Founder of Celebrate Life by Design, LLC. As a certified Executive and Leadership Coach, I have helped countless individuals maximize their life potential and turn their wildest dreams into reality. Whether it be transitioning to a new job after being out of the workforce for years, building your brand, accentuating your leadership team, or rediscovering that missing piece in your soul, get ready for your next adventure.

As a Certified Career and Executive Life Coach with the International Coaching Federation, I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College and am a certified graduate of Coach University. Always the consummate student, I also choose to delve further into my coaching craft with Dr. Martha Beck, renowned New York Times bestselling author and Oprah’s favorite life coach.

I formally served as Co-Chair of the Pediatric Patient Family Advisory Council (PPFAC) at Boston Children’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute and have spoken internationally as an advocate of patient and family-centered care for families, caregivers, and patients. Before my exciting coaching career, I spent almost 20 years as a top recruiter and Vice President for a Boston-based staffing agency helping individuals find the jobs of their dreams.

When I’m not coaching, you can find me laughing and dancing with my forever patient husband, trying to slow down the growth of my two amazing teenagers and enjoying walks with our ever-active golden retrievers. Come and join the ride - I promise you’ll be happy you did!

Learn more about Sara.

Matthew Temple is the Senior Director of Alumni Career & Professional Development for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he manages a team of 11 people who deliver career and executive coaching to 65,000 alumni globally. He has coached clients on a range of career issues including self-assessment, networking, resumes, interviewing, negotiating, and starting/buying a business. Matthew has presented hundreds of career workshops in Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and the Chicago Tribune. Matthew has worked as a Career Coach with Harvard Business School and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Matthew has coached senior executives as well as emerging leaders in high potential and leadership development programs. His areas of focus include leadership, building and managing high performing teams, onboarding, communications, and executive presence. He earned an Organizational and Leadership Coaching Certification from Northwestern University. He is certified in the Designing Your Life, DISC, Gallup Strengths, Hogan Assessment, Voices 360, Korn Ferry Leadership Architect, and MBTI. Matthew has coached executives on leadership, communications, and management at companies including Amazon, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Facebook, GE, Goldman Sachs, Google, JP Morgan Chase, McKinsey, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.

Previously, Matthew served as the Director of International Business Development for Ask.com, where he helped establish, manage, and staff joint ventures worth over US$200 million in Asia, Europe and Latin America. He worked in private equity, M&A and corporate finance for Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. He has lived and worked in Asia and Europe. Matthew holds a BA from Harvard University, an MBA in Finance, Marketing and Organizational Behavior from Kellogg School of Management, and an MS in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University.

Learn more about Matthew.

Colleen is a relauncher and an accomplished senior executive with over two decades of experience in strategic business development and revenue growth. Currently serving as Senior Director of Business Development at iRelaunch, she leads business development strategy while mentoring teams and optimizing sales processes to foster long-term partnerships. Her expertise lies in navigating complex decision-making processes within large global organizations and delivering consultative sales solutions.

Prior to iRelaunch, she spent over a decade in executive leadership roles at Harlem Globetrotters International, where she transformed the organization's business development initiatives. As Executive Vice President of Business Development, she drove revenue generation through strategic sponsorship and licensing opportunities. During her tenure as President of Globetrotter Properties, she also led the Executive Committee in executing strategic plans that increased operating profit year over year.

Outside of the corporate world, Colleen volunteers her time to causes dedicated to women and children, such as the local Domestic Violence Awareness chapter and leading the Family School Association.

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Speech Communications, she combines analytical thinking with exceptional communication skills. She lives in the Chicago area with her family and enjoys cooking for friends, being outdoors when it’s not freezing, and traveling.  

Hello my fellow relaunchers! Thinking back to 2002 when I first took time off (7 years) after the birth of my second child, I had no idea where I would be 20 years later. Fast forward to now, I am so glad to have zig-zagged my way to career coaching and look forward to sharing some of my experiences with you.

I started out with a fairly linear career path by completing my computer science degree and then working at IBM in sales. After receiving an MBA, I worked for Monsanto developing business in China, and then for a Silicon Valley life science startup opening up channels in major Asian markets. My career path seemed pretty obvious during that phase of my career. When I re-entered the job market after my time off, there were definitely many false starts and career detours that led nowhere. In hindsight, I wish I had the iRelaunch roadmap to make sense of the ambiguity I faced. Upon reflection, I appreciated having had time for some trial and error and for immersing myself in the community building at our local school.

When I did find my way back as a paid professional, I discovered that learning and teaching were my best strengths. First, becoming an adjunct at UCSD led me to coaching and mentoring STEM founders and professionals. Then leveraging that experience in online learning, I became a facilitator for HBS Publishing for their global management training programs.

Even though I have thoroughly enjoyed the many impacts I have had as a teacher and mentor, I realize that the 1:1 interaction from coaching has been the most rewarding. In becoming certified as a “First 90 Days” (the onboarding best-seller) transition coach, I have been helping many Fortune 500 (including Nike, Google and Qualcomm) leaders acclimate to their new roles as they get promoted to enterprise leadership.

From my experiences, I know that building and belonging to a community is the most important lesson I have learned. I look forward to sharing what I have learned from my own journey with you as well as experiences I have picked up along the way from the classroom to the boardroom.

I have coached and mentored ambitious professionals my entire career. I have also had the opportunity to recruit, hire and manage countless others. But it wasn’t until the boutique consulting firm, where I was a senior executive and worked for 20+ years, was sold, that I had an opportunity to discover my true calling ... as a career coach with a special focus on relaunchers.

I’ve worked with relaunchers who have taken short (1-3 years) and long (15-20 years) career breaks and have found them to be bright, energetic and highly accomplished. Too often they might lack confidence or have an uncertainty of focus that may derail their search. That’s where I can help. Each client is unique; so we will create a customized plan based entirely on your needs. Whether we’re creating a strategy for your search, preparing for an interview or keeping you accountable and focused, the goal is for you to present your best self in all aspects of the job search. While I won’t sugarcoat things, or let you be unrealistic, I will be your sounding board, advisor and biggest cheerleader.

In addition to decades of “on the job” training, I also have an MBA in Finance from DePaul University, a BA in Business Administration from Augustana College (IL), am a Certified Administrator of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory assessments, a Mock Interview Consultant for Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Volunteer Advisor at the Career Resource Center, as well as a frequent speaker on today’s job search and reentering the Workforce.

Learn more about Mary Beth and 2nd Career Consulting

Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, the pioneering leader in the career reentry field, bringing thousands of mid-career professionals back into the workforce after extended leave. iRelaunch works with employers worldwide to build and expand in-house career reentry programs, produces the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences, and leads a community of nearly 125,000 relaunchers looking to return to work. Cohen, a relauncher herself, hosts the 3,2,1 iRelaunch podcast and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk, "How to get back to work after a career break," has nearly 3.8 million views.

Heather Bannon is the Senior Director of Application Development for Discover Financial Services’ Card Acquisitions area. She is a 20-year veteran of the financial services industry with expertise in various technology stacks, data analytics, and risk management. In her current role she supports the critical entry point for prospects looking to apply for a Discover Card product – from viewing Discover’s product offerings to applying for an account to managing the post-application experience. She is also the Technology Lead for Card Frontbook integration between Discover and CapitalOne. She’s an ardent supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion and an active mentor within her company with involvement in several Employee Resource Groups supporting women professionals and LGBTQ+ professionals as well as ‘Women In Tech’. As a professional with a 5-year career break, she’s passionate about normalizing career breaks and paying back the support she had in returning to the workplace over a decade ago. Outside of work, she divides her time between pursuing her Masters of Science in Information Technology at University of Denver and enjoying time with her family including their newest member, her 4 month old corgi puppy named Schnicklefritz.

John started his career in 2002 as a Transportation Engineer, and worked in the field of traffic operations for 15 years. He then took a 4 year career break due to medical reasons. John applied to be an Adjudication Engineer in the Utah Division of Water Rights through the Return Utah program. He started with the Division of Water Rights in January 2022, and that June he was promoted to his current position of an Engineering Manager in the Adjudication section.

After a divorce and becoming a single parent in 2012, Samantha Kranyak sought to "reinvent herself" in industry. She had been a stay-at-home mom for approximately 5 years after a lengthy career that began in public accounting as an external auditor at KPMG, LLP and subsequently moving to Campbell Soup Company in internal audit and finance roles. She received her MBA from Saint Joseph's University and made the move as an entrepreneur in the world of financial advising for a few years prior to making the choice to stay at home with her children.

Realizing the difficulty in transitioning back to industry post-divorce, Samantha discovered iRelaunch and decided to attend one of their Return to Work conferences. It was life changing for her and helped her to realize that she was among many women who felt unsure of where they fit in and how to regain the confidence they once had as accomplished and motivated professionals. She walked away with a polished resume, a story to share with potential employers regarding her work gap, and more confidence after being MIA from the workplace for a few years.

After the conference, Samantha decided to use her old book of business and relaunch into real estate full time. At the same time, she had an adjunct teaching role at her undergraduate alma mater, Widener University, located outside of Philadelphia. In 2019, she was offered the opportunity to join the university as a non-tenure, full-time professor in accounting. She currently teaches multiple accounting courses along with other topics related to management and real estate. She has been honored to be the recipient of multiple awards including Professor of the Year in 2024. She continues to practice in real estate with Keller Williams in Exton, PA, while balancing the above with her most cherished role of being a mom.

Bio coming soon.

Carol Fishman Cohen is the CEO and Co-founder of iRelaunch, the pioneering leader in the career reentry field, bringing thousands of mid-career professionals back into the workforce after extended leave. iRelaunch works with employers worldwide to build and expand in-house career reentry programs, produces the iRelaunch Return to Work Conferences, and leads a community of nearly 125,000 relaunchers looking to return to work. Cohen, a relauncher herself, hosts the 3,2,1 iRelaunch podcast and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her TED talk, "How to get back to work after a career break," has nearly 3.8 million views.